The Bulls’ new godfather is ready to take his place at the head of the family.

Matt Orford received clearance to complete his Odsal move last week and should arrive within weeks to head up Bradford’s own ‘Manly Mafia’.

The 31-year-old scrum half is among a quartet of former Sea Eagles players set to wear the red, amber and black next year, alongside Heath L’Estrange, Glenn Hall and Steve Menzies.

All four know what it takes to win, having won the NRL Grand Final with Manly in 2008, and L’Estrange is tipping Orford in particular to be lethal in Super League. “The Godfather comes over in a few weeks, the Ox,” said the bubbly hooker.

“I can’t wait. It’s a good thing for us and hopefully a good thing for Bradford if we can bring a bit of cohesion between us. Especially for Oxy and I, at No 7 and No 9, I’ve got to know what he’s doing.

“I’m familiar with what he does and sometimes I’ll get to have a bit of a run, while other times I have to give him the ball.

“As long as our big boys go forward, I think Matty Orford will love it over here and it’ll be a great year.”

But, despite the hype that will surround the former Dally M medal winner’s move to Odsal, L’Estrange is confident the Ox will not be burdened by expectation.

L’Estrange added: “He’s a champion and really down to earth. He doesn’t believe any of the hype and he’ll just play his own game.

“He’ll be relaxed and I’m sure he’ll do well. I think he’s bringing his surfboards over here too. He’s going to leave them in the beach house at Blackpool.”

For Hall, the transition to life in West Yorkshire will be made far smoother by the presence of his Manly mates.

The 28-year-old second-rower believes they can bring the mental toughness that comes from winning an NRL title but also stressed the need to become quickly integrated at Odsal.

“It’s the mental week in, week out grind that we can bring over and maybe help Steve instil that into some of the younger players,” said Hall. “The sooner we get a rapport with the guys that are here, the better it is for Bradford.

“Beaver (Menzies) helped out massively in my move here. I rang him and spoke to him a lot about it and then when I found out they were talking to Heath it made it even better.

“Heath and I get on really well, we’ve been good friends for a couple of years. We played together at the Sydney Roosters and then we’ve spent the last few years at Manly together.”

But it is the off-field benefits of playing with familiar faces, as much as the on-pitch ones, that has helped ease the culture shock of a move to the northern hemisphere.

Hall said: “We’re staying with Beaver at the moment, just while we find somewhere to live. Our wives are good friends, so it helps with that side of things.

“The football guys are always going to be good dudes but it’s the girls that sometimes have a hard time, so it’s been really good.”